


Scooby and the Pet Plan

by Karianasahn



Series: Slice of Scooby [14]
Category: Scooby Doo - All Media Types
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Light-Hearted, Pets, Slice of Life, With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-01-15
Updated: 2007-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:47:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23716948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karianasahn/pseuds/Karianasahn
Summary: A normal day in the Mystery Inc Household get's turned on its ear when Scooby makes an unexpected request. He wants his own pet dog... So the gang have to come up with a plan, to see if Scooby would be responsible enough for his own, pet dog.Slight continuity error on my part, with the later chapters coming after a newer story of 'Coming Together', but well, it takes a while for the gang to test Scooby through the plan. So... it kinda works.
Series: Slice of Scooby [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1250339
Kudos: 1





	1. Scooby and the Pet Plan

It was a quiet day of the Mystery Inc house hold. Everyone was hanging out in the living room. Giving up her usual spot, Velma had found herself sunbathing with her laptop, sitting in the bay window facing the front. The chilly wind that played along the trees didn't bother Velma in the least, as she soaked up the sun and surfed on the internet. Daphne had the couch, lounging across the length with a book across her face. Having tried to read something; she had fallen asleep, the book providing a perfect blindfold against the cheery sun Velma was sitting in. Fred and Shaggy had pulled out one of the video game systems that Shaggy owned, and was playing some type of fighting game. 

The only one missing was Scooby, but that would not last for long.

The dog was on a mission. You could tell with how he was walking into the room. With his head held high, he sauntered into the room. Moving, he made sure he was in the middle of the room before he came to a full stop. Almost with military type gestures, he clicked his feet together and faced the couch.

"R'hem." Coughed the Dane, trying to get the groups attention with a mild loud voice. He waited, then when no one moved in response to his cough, he tried again.

"RA' **HEM!** " Much louder, but the only thing that he got was a slight moment from Daphne as she shifted in her nap, the book sliding a bit off of her sleeping face. But nothing more.

_**BARK BARK BARK BARK!** _

The Dane burst out into a short but loud round of barks, making the whole house echo in response. Daphne snorted awake, pushing the book away and looking around for danger. Velma had jumped, but latched onto the laptop before it slipped off her lap due to her sudden movement. Fred and Shaggy dropped their controllers and peered over the couch to look at Scooby.

"R'ank roo." He thanked them all, and now he had the attention he wanted. Sitting down, he brought up a paw that he then coughed into.

"Row r'hen, r'I r'had ren r'idea." He took his time, and paused to make sure everyone was still playing attention. "R'I r'want r'a r'og"

"Like' Scooby. You are a dog." Came the brilliant observation from the scruffy beatnik.

"R'og? R'ere?" Scooby said as his usual response. His head looking about for the dog. He didn't see one, since he didn't really believe himself a dog. He was a dog alright, but he was a more sophisticated dog. "Ro ro, r'a ret r'og. R'I r'want r'a ret r'og" He was talking about a pet dog. Not a Dog dog. 

There was a _clear_ difference.

Shaking her head, Daphne tried to rattle the sleep out of her. A yawn came out of her, a hand wandering up to cover it. "But Scooby, you can't take care of a pet." She said simply.

"Yeah, a pet is a big responsibility." Fred added, feeling like he was talking more to a child, than Shaggy's dog. This wasn't something he would have to be arguing… Well at least not to a Great Dane of all things.

"R'es r'I ran!" The Dane crossed his paws and pouted. He wanted a pet and they were going to help him get one. They had no choice in the matter. He would just be stubborn until he got what he wanted.

Daphne sat back down, shielding another yawn as she stared at the protesting dog. And she thought her dream about talking finger sandwiches was weird. Reality at the moment sure had that one on the run. Fred looked over at Shaggy, hoping he might know how to deal with Scooby on this. But Shaggy just shrugged. Not exactly something that comes in the doggy facts manual for taking care of Great Danes. Maybe it was in the fine print or something.

"How about this?" Velma had stayed quiet till her mind had latched on something that could help them all. "How about we propose a pet plan?"

Scooby turned around to face Velma as the rest of the gang looked in hope that the youngest member had an idea to get them out of this odd problem.

"R'uh?" Scooby tilted his head and looked at her. Obviously confused.

"A Pet Plan." Velma repeated. "Basically it's a plan to see if Scooby is responsible enough for a pet dog in the future. We find various other pets and see if Scooby is able to take good enough care of them. And then once he does well with one, we can move him up to another type of pet until we deem him ready for a dog, or not responsible enough..." 

"Does that work for you Scooby?" She asked the Dane. Putting a paw to his face, he thought it over. After a few seconds, he pulled his paw away to nod furiously. He would then prove that he was responsible enough for a pet!

"Alright, we will have to talk as a group, well, all of us…" Velma gestured to all the humans in the room. "And decide the best pets for you. So give us a little time, and then you'll get your first pet, ok?"

"R'ok!" Happy and his mission achieved for the most part, he headed off to his room, content. The whole room seemed to sigh in apprehension once the Dane was out of the room. Daphne ran a hand down her face, almost pinching herself to see if it was a dream. Fred got up and around the couch to get closer while Shaggy saved and then turned off the game before coming around as well. Velma was looking at her laptop, the sounds of the keys being typed and buttons being clicked showed her fast paced searching.

"I'm figuring you have a plan?" Fred asked tentatively, looking over his shoulder to make sure Scooby was out of the room.

A few more button clicks and Velma had found what she was looking for. Turning the laptop, she showed the gang her idea on the comp screen. With grins all around, she had hit on a great idea.

"Perfect!" Chirped Fred, approving of her idea. Shaggy nodded in agreement. Daphne was still half awake, but it seemed to be a good idea. She threw thumbs up before sinking back on the couch.

"Now to just order one." Velma commented, turning the laptop back to her. With a few clicks, the order was set and all they had to do was wait.


	2. First Pet

The day had arrived. The order had come in and Scooby was waiting with anticipation. His thick tail thumped the carpet with excitement. Today was the day he was going to get his first pet.

As part of the ' _Pet Plan_ ' Velma had worked out for him, Scooby was going to eventually get the chance to have his own pet dog. But first he had to prove that he was good enough of an owner of lesser responsibility pets till he was ready to have a dog of his own.

Velma had gotten a package today, and he knew it had to be his pet. He had sneaked a peek when she was unpacking it. It looked like a small pet carrier. It was small… But there was the word 'pet' in pet carrier. He'll just work up to the bigger pets.

He was waiting in the living room when Velma and the gang in tow came over to where he was patiently waiting. The tempo of his tail increased at they came to surround the front of him, with Velma and the small carrier in her hands. Clapping his paws together eagerly, he tried to contain himself and show that he was not going to be a bad owner for his new pet… 

_What ever it might be?_

"Now Scooby… This is a very important pet. You need to give it attention. Love and tend to all its needs. This is a first pet for many people, so this is the first pet of the Pet Plan." Velma told Scooby, in a very serious tone. Reluctantly, she handed over the carrier. Then she handed a small booklet.

"This is instructions to take care of your new pet."

Without looking at the booklet he took from her, he put it down neatly beside him and fumbled with the cardboard box that held his pet. Being careful not to jostle the pet to much, he opened the box and looking in to find his pet, waiting for him at the bottom of the box. But… The more he looked, the more he grew confused.

"R'eres r'a ret?" He asked puzzled as he looked in the box.

"What? The pet's right there." Fred pointed into the box. Scooby looked up at him, doubtful at what he was saying.

"R'under rah r'ock?" He asked, poking the rock inside the box. Maybe the pet was under it, he peered to see if that was the case. But he saw nothing in the box beside the rock. Wiggling a digit through one of the large air holes, he thought maybe it crawled out.

"No silly, the rock **IS** the pet!" Daphne stressed, but amused. They had the feeling this might have happened this way.

"Rah rock ris ra r'et?" He tilted his head again, looking it over with a careful eye.

"Well, if you don't want a pet, then we can call the whole thing off right now." Velma said, making a very slow movement to the box. Scooby pulled it away and clung to the box protectively.

"Ro **ro**. Ry rock." He clung on to it move, and trotted away. Then he trotted back to take the instructional booklet and moved to his and Shaggy's room to meet his new pet. He took then, time to look over the box and read the various words on the box. At the top edge of the roof of the box, was a set of lettering. 'IMPORTANT: Open box carefully. DO NOT remove rock before reading the instructions.' The side of the box, below the second strip of air holes had some more lettering. 'This box contains one genuine Pedigree Pet Rock.' He ignored the rest of the small print and turned to the booklet. The front had more writing. 'The care and training of your Pet Rock.' Pulling the book open, it had pages of the proper care of the pet rocks. The titles of some of the chapters sounded odd. 'Teaching your pet rock to attack. Different Breeds of pet rock. A chip off an old rock is more serious than a chip off a young rock.' And several other chapter titles.

Coming in behind Scooby, Shaggy came in and settled on the many pillows that made up his and Scooby's bed. Instead of a traditional bed, the duo opted to just sleep on pillows and bean bag chairs. A chiropractors nightmare, but Shaggy loved it just the way it was.

"So, like have you named it Scoob?" Shaggy asked curiously. He himself had owned a Pet Rock long ago, but his ran away. A talent in and of itself. Then again it might have just been his dad teaching it to fly. It just never decided to fly back home.

Scooby peered into the box and looked at the small gray rock, wondering what to name it. It was sitting on top of a mass of straw, in kind of a nest like pattern. A name was very important for an owner to bond with their pet, so he had to make sure the name was a good one.

"R'ocky." Scooby said with a nod.

"Balboa?" Shaggy muttered confused before he realized Scooby was calling it Rock-y and not the fictional boxer from the movies. "Ah, ok. R'ocky it is. Hello R'ocky." He peered into the box and spoke to the rock. Turning to Scooby, Shaggy nodded.

"Now you better take good care of the rock, if you want to have a living pet." Shaggy had the same thing, only he had to take care of his pet rock, a gerbil and a friend's lizard before he finally got Scooby.

"Ris rah rock r'hough." Complained Scooby slightly. He wasn't sure how taking care of a rock was all that important about taking care of a pet. He didn't even know what a rock would even need. If it needed anything at all?

"A Pet Rock is a great pet. You don't have to clean up after it. You don't have to feed it, so that saves on pet food, unlike other pets. A bit of a downside, is that they aren't the brightest pets, but they can learn two tricks. But that does mean less obedience training for R'ocky. But you can talk to it, and you never will have any arguments, or yelling from it. It is a great listener, and never pees on the carpet or has to go outside. So, it's like' a great starter pet!" Shaggy commented. And heck, it sounded like such a good pet he might just ask Velma to get him another one.

What started as an awkward pet soon became a constant companion for the Dane. The two tricks Sit and Stay, came in handy when Scooby needed to hold down the edge of his cook book when Shaggy and Scooby were in the kitchen. R'ocky slowly found himself not only being taken care of by Scooby, but often when Scooby was occupied he had the gang rock-sit him. Velma didn't mind a helper when she was reading, and Daphne found herself talking to R'ocky when she was rock sitting in the basement working in her darkroom. Fred found company with R'ocky, but he made a poor assistant when working on the Mystery Machine. But overall, Scooby was taking very good care of R'ocky, so they were going to have to move onto the next pet in the pet plan.

It was a Friday, when the gang came over with the next pet. Scooby had been watching TV with R'ocky when Daphne came over; her hands cupped together hoping something.

"Scooby, this is your next pet to take care of…"


	3. Second Pet

"Scooby, this is your next pet to take care of…"

Brimming with anticipation, he tried to sit up higher on his haunches to look at the pet as Daphne agonizingly slowly opened her cupped hands. He was going to practically jump up on her and rip her hands apart when at the last second she popped open her hands and showed what was inside.

With a tilt of his head, he looked up at her.

"R'aper?" He stared at her hands in confusion. "R'irst ra r'ock. Ren ra riece r'of r'aper?"

Sitting in her hands was a piece of paper. But not just apiece of paper, it was another instructional manual. The middle of the paper had an illustration of the pet on it, with little labels showing the parts of the pet and what they stood for. Squinting, Scooby reached over and plucked Velma's glassed off her face and used it to peer at the small type. 

Rolling her eyes, Velma crossed her arms in a pout. "Very funny."

"Ree hee hee… Rorry." Scooby chuckled, gently placing her glassed back on her face. Turning back to Daphne, who was still holding the paper, he shook his head and held up his paws in puzzlement. "R'hats ra Ramarochi?"

"Like' Tamagotchi Scoob. It's Tamagotchi." Shaggy clarified for the confused Dane. Though the word didn't seem too much clearer as what kind of pet it was. "It's a digital pet. Like' a computer pet that you can carry around with you."

Reaching from around his back where he had been hiding it, Fred pulled out the blue gadget that was the digital pet. A little over an inch tall, and about an inch wide, the little blue toy hung from a small chain that connected to a clasp. Three buttons seemed to be enough to run the small device. Also, on the left side sat a little piece of plastic, it was a tab that seemed to be sticking out. In the middle was the screen, which had a bunch of squares sitting in smaller squares. Giving it an odd depth effect, probably why it was made like that.

"R'his ris r'it?" Scooby poked the small unit that was the pet. He felt a bit disappointed, but it did look more complex of a pet then R'ocky. Since, well you can only go up from a rock. Daphne leaned over and handed Scooby the manual. Holding up a finger, she gave him a warning.

"You better read that manual Scooby. Do it, before you even pull the tab." She wagged her finger and then left him to figure out things on his own. He needed to prove he was responsible, so this was part of it. Have to follow directions for taking care of any pet, even virtual ones.

One by one, the gang filed out to do various things about the house, and Scooby was left by him lonesome to care for his new pet. Fred had passed the blue gadget to him and shot him a thumbs up before he vanished.

"R'ell R'ock, rit's r'ust rou r'and re." He patted the rock affectionately and moved back to the couch. Turning off the TV, since the noise was getting distracting, he peered over the manual.

The first page once the manual was opened had various notes of how this model of Tamagotchi is new and improved from, what Scooby figured as an older version. It went on to then describe how to 'wake' the sleeping Tamagotchi, since it was in a kind of sleep from the manufacture so not to waste the battery. That is what the small plastic tab was for. The page went on to describe the instructions for first starting, and putting in the proper time. It also said to name it. Then when the egg hatched, if it was light colored, it was a girl and vice versa dark for a boy. Scooby looked back at the front page and noticed what the three buttons were labeled. A, B and C, the first A was for selecting things. The B was for executing an action and C was for canceling an action you didn't want to make. Useful things to know for taking care of it. Back to the first page, it finished with showing the growth process of the pet. From Egg, to baby, moving onto child, teenager and finally adult. Apparently, it will beep when it needed something.

Page two was "How to take care of your Tamagotchi." Showing what the heath meter meant, and the various options under that option in the menu bar. Things like Hunger, happiness, training level and gochi points. Which it seemed the points was for buying things for the pet. Food was another menu option, saying how it was possible to overfeed the pet.

"R'over reed… Rah right." Scooby remarked at the paper, nudging R'ocky. Though R'ocky never did eat things Scooby tried to give him.

There was also a toilet option, which seemed to mean you had to clean up after the Tamagotchi pooped. Not an appealing option, but a realistic one of everything but the smell. Or at least he hoped not the smell. Also under that was the listing of various games and activities you could play with your pet. The games looked interesting, but it would have to wait.

Page five was titled Items. It explained how to buy items in game, and online options if your pet got free tickets to fly somewhere in game. These made Scooby have to read it a few times… So, the virtual pet went on virtual vacations and you could go to the World Wide Web and get the item codes for Souvenirs from said trips. Weird. After reading this a bit, it certainly seems more complex then a rock. It even could be disciplined if it was bad, or praised when it was good. If only praise normally was just a button click away, it would make a mess of people happier.

Medicine was another menu button, apparently it could get sick too. And It had a light option to put the pet to sleep. The game also had a friend's option, though Scooby didn't quite understand how that his little toy pet could get friends. The rest of the manual went into reset and other technical terms Scooby didn't have to read at the beginning. 

So, He finally moved to turn on the pet himself.

There was a tiny bit of tension, as Scooby gripped the Tab. He was about to start a life of a virtual, but a pet nonetheless. With a deep breath in and out, he pulled the tab.

Expecting more, a small spotted egg graced the screen. It bobbed up and down slightly. Confused, he looked back at the manual and realized he had to put in the date by pushing the B button at start up. And not that it would automatically pop up. Once he put in the date, a birth date option came up and he typed that in as well. Then came his name, though it only had room for five letters, so 'Scoob" had to do. Coming back to the main screen, Scooby watched the egg bob up and down…

Up and down…  
Up and down…

And just when he thought it might hatch, it bobbed again. He was about to look away bored when the egg stayed crouching down. With a few tones, the egg hatched. It was a Girl. A prompt curser flashed, awaiting a name. Like his name, it could only fit five letters. Daphne's name was out of the picture. With a grin, he typed in the letters. "R-e-l-m-a" With the button selected, and name in place. He came back to the screen with the bobbling little pet.

"R'ello Relma." He greeted the pet. Playing with the buttons, he realized she needed to be fed. And promptly fed her three bits of sushi, some ice cream and a tart. Heck, sounded like dinner to Scooby. The snacks made Relma happier, and the food made her four food hearts filled. Opting to play a game, it took a few tries to get the only available game, right. Catching music notes, and avoiding garbage. He won some points, and made Relma happier.

Playing a bit, an attention announcement beep when off and the little blob on the screen was having a skull above her. Looking at the options, and trying a bit, Scooby finally used the medicine to cure her. Which then, she promptly pooped in happiness. Needing to feed her again, he gave her more Sushi and a ice cream cone for happiness. Thankfully, that made all her hearts full, Food and Happy. 

Sighing in relief, Scooby took a second to relax.

"Reesh, rit's ra r'ot r'of rork." He said to R'ocky, who never really needed to poop, or be fed. It was a lot of work and time. And he just got it a little while ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, ending comments. I actually have a Tamagotchi that I was using to make this as realistic as possible. And I don't claim to own Tamagotchi, That belongs to BanDai. Hope you liked this. Next pet it on it's way.


	4. Next pet?

It was a long while filled with beeps and boops till it was deemed Scooby had done a good enough job with his Tamagotchi to warrant a new pet. Relma has survived, and well enough that she was doing good and still alive and healthy. So, there was need of discussion for the next pet. Though which, was something needed to be talked about.

The gang had all come together to converse the latest ideas. With Scooby off in Velma's lab playing on her computer to get more items for Relma his Tamagotchi, they met in secret to hold a meeting to find the perfect next pet. Hoping the internet would delay him long enough to talk about it without him over hearing.

"As you all know, Scooby is in line to have another pet. But which is the ideal one to choose?" Velma gathered everyone's attention, hoping this would help brainstorm an idea.

"Well what are our options?" Fred wondered aloud.

"I don't know if there are to many things that are not actual living creatures. We did pet rock. We did a Tamagotchi... What is the next step up?" Daphne questioned aloud. Unable to think of a significant upgrade that didn't actually pass into the living realm where it was possible to kill it. She wasn't sure he was ready for something that was actually depending on him to live, yet.

"That is true." Velma agreed. "There are not too many options that is available that isn't now going into a living pet. There are only so many virtual pets that we can use to simulate a living pet besides actually getting one."

As the talking began, Shaggy seemed deep in thought. Letting him think a while, Daphne moved on, giving him more time to think before bugging him.

"Well, what is a living pet that isn't that easy to kill?" Daphne pondered, her mind filing thought lists of animals that were good pets, but sturdy enough to last if not taken care of well enough. At least common pets one might think. Nothing to exotic.

"Would a plant work?" Fred suggested off to the side. "You need to water it, sometimes feed it. And generally take care of it. It's living but not all that tragic if it dies."

Velma shook her head. "Scooby on many occasions has helped me and Shaggy out in the garden. He already can do that well enough, and a plant isn't as depend on you as much a pet will be. Especially if his end result is a dog of his own." The idea of a dog owning a dog as a pet still feeling weird. But then again Scooby saw himself more of a human then a dog. He was only a dog when it was convenient for himself to get out of things.

"What about a video game that has to do with raising a dog? Like those sim games have people raising dogs. And you have to take care of the people too. Wouldn't that be a good idea?" Shaggy said, finally speaking. Velma placed a hand to her chin to think it over while Daphne was quick to speak.

"I don't think Sims is a good idea." She grumbled.

Fred looked confused at her. "Why not?"

Daphne gave him a flat look. "Remember last time he played with sims? He tried to place a diamond over our heads so he could tell us what to do. Like in the game. Since he was using us as models for his characters." The memory hit them all and was a odd reminder.

"Ok... no Sims." Shaggy agreed and shut his mouth. He remembered having to clean up after Scooby when he got so into it, he thought a mop was all you needed to clean up ' _spills_ '...

"Well, it seems like a lot of virtual programs are out. So, what is left for real animals?" Fred asked.

"Well, how about a Hamster?" Shaggy offered.

"I think that is too soon." Daphne commented. "It's a bit of a step from virtual pet to a Hamster."

"Hm..." Shaggy thought. "True."

"What about a fish?" Fred wondered, since fish were really easy to take care of, yet also dependent on someone to clean it's tank, feed it and other things. Velma pondered it over for a bit. A gentle, "hmmm..." coming out of her.

"A hm!" Daphne clapped in fake over enthusiasm. " That is one step away from a Jinkies! I like we have a plan soon." Fred snickers in respond as Velma signed and shook her head.

"Almost a Jinkies, if anything there is a ' _I got it_ ' before a Jinkies. But I think I have come up with a pet." She gestured for them to come closer to hear her plan. Just in case Scooby was listening.

"Here's the plan..."


	5. Third Pet

Taking Scooby out of the house for a lunch with Shaggy gave the rest of the gang enough time to collect the next pet. They had to buy it from a specialty store, since unlike his previous pets; Velma could not order it online as easily. Pet rocks and Tamagotchi would not die in the mail, and though these would not as well, it was best to get them from the store. Less waiting as well, since Scooby was getting a bit impatient to prove his worthiness for a pet dog.

Setting up, they had enough time to get everything ready for when the other two got home. The girls spent most of the time reading the various instruction manual's that came with most of the gear while Fred amused himself with part of some contraption that was used on the tank that they lived in.

"I can't believe Joseph-Beth Booksellers had these little guys?" Commented Daphne as her nose hovered in the manual she had in front of her, oddly captivated by the facts and little pictures that were in it.

"Well the Center for Science and Industry was out of them, so that was the next place to find them. A bit out of the way, but we did promise Scooby we would have the next pet for him to prove himself on." Velma sighed, feeling like they unleashed a monster. Thankfully they were still in the lower price range and they had bought enough supplies for this pet to last a long while. A relief they didn't eat much.

"Do you think we are really going to get to the point of Scooby having a dog?" Fred asked with slight concern. As much as he loved Scooby, one was more then enough. It might be even worse with Scooby training another dog. He shuddered to think of the results. Daphne looked wide eyed as she though about the end product as

Velma seemed a lot calmer,

"I **DO** have a semi-plan if he gets that far, but I don't know if we'll need to call in that favor or not." She wasn't sure if they would get that far, since there were a few other ideas before that stage, but Scooby was always full of surprises, she liked being prepared just in case.

"We're like' Home!" 

Shaggy shouted into the house, closing the door behind him and Scooby. Trotting past his human counterpart, Scooby knew something was up in the house since it was to quiet, he had gotten a free meal not complaints, and no one greeted them at the door. A quick sniff led him to the awaiting group, a grin forming on the dog's face as he noticed a few boxes and things sitting behind them all.

"Ret?" His eyes widened excitedly, sitting up and clapping his paws together excitedly. It was his new pet, while R'ocky and Relma were waiting in room for later. He was eager to give them a new 'brother' or 'sister' to add to his growing family. Unknown to Scooby, his little pet family was about to get a heck of a lot bigger.

"Yes Scooby," Daphne spoke as they all parted to reveal the table they had set up all the supplies on. "…This is your new pet."

Various instruments and other parts littered the table, but sitting in the middle was a small clear tank, with a red designed base and a red cap up top of it. It looked like it was meant to hold an aquatic animal this time. Though the water had not been added and the cardboard advertisement for what pet it was, still sat inside. Making his way to the table, he picked up the tank and peered into it. Closing one eye, he focused the other past the one Magnifying Portals to read the words past the plastic.

"Rhe R'amazing Rive Re Ronkeys… Re Ronkeys? R'hat's ra re ronkey?" After reading the title, he turned to them all, his head settling on Velma for the explanation of this next pet.

"A Sea Monkey is a common first… well in this case third pet. Hybrid Brine Shrimp had been bred to be able to live long and healthy in most average homes. With a common life span of two years, according to the manual it's guaranteed or they would send a whole other shipment since they are confident of how long they live." Velma said with a confident nod.

"Why Sea-Monkey though?" Daphne remarked as she stared at the box. Frankly to her, the box made them seem kind of cartoony and she was pretty sure they were not going to end up looking like that.

"Brine Shrimp…" Fred re-iterated as he picked up and looked at the manual by him. "Isn't that a small type of marine crustation, a shrimp? But these don't look like any shrimp I have seen on that box."

"Mmmmmmm…." Scooby drooled at the mention of shrimp. Seafood was good. "R'Jumbo Rhrimp… R'obster… R'rawfish…"

"Well, it's a type of shrimp. But unlike the ones you see on TV or might eat, a brine shrimp is much much smaller." Velma informed Scooby, hoping to make sure he didn't exactly eat his new pet. "That and they don't taste very good either Scooby."

"R'aw…" A snapped finger, Scooby returned to looking at the tank as Velma continued her explanation of his new pet.

"Brine Shrimp, or Artemia NYOS as in this case, are made to last a lot longer and grow much bigger then normal brine shrimp. They are hearty, and make excellent pets. Like many sea animals, they are named after an aspect they seem to share with the land version, though they are in no way genetically related. Like as seen in monkeys, these type of shrimp have playful attitudes and a rather cute little prehensile tail."

"I pre-hen-sa-what?" A voice came from the door. Arriving late in the conversation, Shaggy looked confused as he didn't know what Velma had just said, though he was used to that happening on occasion.

"A tail that is prehensile, is a tail that can grip things and can be used like a hand." Fred made hand motions though it did little to simulate what he was talking about, but did it anyway. Shaggy seemed to get the idea well enough.

"Man. Like' with a tail like that; I could hold a sandwich in each hand and still be able to open a door."

Turning around, Scooby twisted his tail around and picked up the tank to show off. The small plastic tank was easily lifted up off the table and into Scooby's awaiting paws as he giggled from his impressive act of a prehensile tail. Setting his sights over the tank, he gazed at the gang expectantly.

"Ro…. Rhere r' Rey?" His head looked back and forth but didn't see the shrimp. Not in the dry tank, not among the bags and things on the table, not in a water tank nearby. Unless they resemble their name; maybe being so small he couldn't see them, which kind of makes it hard to take care of the pet if he would not be able to see the little guys.

Walking over to the table, Velma picked up a small pouch that was sitting there. On the front of the pouch were a rather large number two, and some words underneath it, 'Instant Live Eggs.' She also picked up two other packets and snatched the manual out of Daphne's hands; a small whine came out of her as it was taken away. She had obviously gotten interested in something she had seen and was reading. Placing the various stuff by Scooby, he put down the tank to pick up the book to read it. Walking behind Scooby, Shaggy peered over the fuzzy shoulder and read aloud the instructions.

"Raising your Sea Monkey's." Read the title on the first page. "Rinse the tank out several times." Shaggy blinked, slightly taken aback as the instructions were very plain and simple. Very hard to mess up, but then it was made for younger kids, so it had to be easy to understand. And thankfully for Scooby, even he could understand this manual and not screw up.

"Fill the tank with bottled drinking water or boiled tap water. Fill to one point two centimeters from top of tank. Pour Pouch number one, Water Purifier into tank. Hmm… Looks like you have to use clean water, either bottled or cooked water for the little guys. And then add something else to help clean it ever more so the Monkeys can live."

Shaggy pointed out, fascinated with the idea. And it seemed like a good next stage for Scooby to work on, seemed easy enough.

"R'aw r'man!" Scooby complained, apparently finding something that was a problem. Leaning over him, Shaggy looked at what Scooby was pointing at. Shaggy shook his head, since the problem wasn't that big. He patted the dog on the shoulder reassuringly.

"There there Scoob. It's only waiting a day for the little guy's place to be ready. You don't want to mess up and they hurt the little guys, do you?" A negative head shake came from the Dane, obviously not wanting to mess up his chance for this new pet. Putting the various things down, he made way to the kitchen to boil up some water for his new pets. He returned when the water had cooled down a bit, taking the cardboard out of the tank and prepped it. Pouring the water, he added the purifier powder and stirred as the booklet told him to, imagining all the little Sea Monkeys he was going to become daddy of.

* * *

Twenty four hours seemed incredibly long to the Great Dane. 

He did fill the time taking care of R'ocky and R'elma, as well as helping a bit in the garden since the day was nice before rushing to his part of the room and got out tank. Reading before hand, he knew that he had to keep it in indirect sunlight. Direct sunlight would evaporate the water and be bad for the little guys, he made sure he had just the right spot for the tank to sit.

Taking up the pouch numbered two; he gently opened the package and poured in the liquid to the awaiting ready tank. Using something called the Aqua Leash that came with the kit; he stirred the water till the powder was dissolved. It said in the book, that each bit of the powder was in fact crystals that sat around each of the many eggs of the sea monkeys that provided them safety and food when they hatched. Scooby wanted to try it, but he would have ended eating the eggs, that would not be a good idea. Especially if he wanted to raise these little guys well. 

Using the magnifying glasses, he could see the eggs, but unlike what the package said, he didn't see any babies hatching.

Worried, he placed the tank in the safe space out of the sun and ran to find Velma. Since who else would he run to for information? Scrambling down the stairs, he skidded to a halt right before he barreled into her.

"Whoa Scooby, what's the Rush?" Velma said as she adjusted her jostled glasses back upon her nose.

"Rha rea r'onkies r'aren't ratching." He stammered, trotting in place antsy for her to follow and take a look at his new pets. He wanted to make sure he was doing it right, he came straight for help. 

Nodding, Velma took up pace behind the anxious 'father' and followed him back to him and Shaggy's room. There on the dresser had Scooby set up the tank, as R'elma and R'ocky watched the tank while he was away. Scooby fed the beeping R'elma while her name sake peered into the magnifying glass to look at his new pet.

"I don't see anything wrong Scoob. They seem fine to me." Looking past the altered plastic, she was able to zoom in and watch the little babies swimming around. They seemed kinda fuzzy, and their long tails wiggled behind them as they swam happily about the tank. "Congratulations Scooby, you are now the proud owner of a pack of Sea Monkeys."

"R'ay!" Once she moved out of the way, Scooby had his eyes glued to his new brood to watch over. Chuckling, Velma let the Dane have his space and time with his new pets.

* * *

Some time passed. before a worried bark echoed in the house.

"RELMA RELMA RELMA!" Came the anxious shouts of the Dane skittering down the stairs. Velma had been working on something in her basement lab when Scooby came barreling in. He looked distressed and it was probably due to his new pet. The past few weeks, Scooby had been taking care of them, but she had a feeling she knew what the problem would be. Letting him lead she followed the upset Dane to the room.

Teary eyed, Scooby looked up at Velma, hoping she could help him. It was a sad sight. Cloudy water looked like it had been that way for a while, and there were many bodies sitting at the bottom. What few she could see still swimming around were inspecting what seemed to be a part of a sandwich.

"Scooby..." As she turned and said his name, he looked sheepishly up at her. He could feel he did something wrong, but he wasn't exactly sure what, though he still felt guilty.

"Rah?" He meekly answered.

"... Fetch me a cup of water, and quickly. We might be able to save some of your sea monkeys."

Dashing off, she did choose a good candidate for the job as he returned seconds later with a glass in hand and most of the water. But it was enough for what Velma had to do.

"Where is the.." Before she could answer, Scooby read her mind and brought over the box with all of the various Sea Monkey gear. Taking the Aqua Leash, which was basically a hand squeezing vacuum for the Sea Monkeys, Velma vacuumed up what few remaining Monkeys were left and transferred them into the fresh water in the cup while she explained to Scooby what had gone wrong.

"Do you know what happened?" She asked. He hung his head and shook it.

"R'i r'on't ro."

"It looks like you were feeding them to much. You have been using the little spoon that came with it, right?"

"Rah rah. R'i r'eed r'hem rin ra rorning, ro ra r'ack, r'and runch. R'also r'eats r'and rinner!" The Dane cheered up when talking about food. He felt the need for the Sea Monkeys to mimic his own eating habits. Velma shook her head again, she also figured the sandwich was part of it as well. No doubt Scooby didn't see them eating all the food he was providing that he felt like he needed to add more.

"Scooby, there is a reason that spoon is the size that it is. The little Sea Monkeys don't eat anywhere even close to the amount of food you guys do. Each animal is different and need different requirements to live. Sea Monkeys can live on the special food made just for them for a really long time. They can't actually eat the food we eat, and that is why you had a bunch of them die."

"... Rie? R'hey ried?" The sorrow came back as he looked at what few remained of his large colony of Sea Monkeys sitting in the cup, then over at the sandwich. Standing upright in the water was the bit of the sandwich, like a monument to his mistake and a grave marker for those who had died. Scooby started to cry.

"Oh, come here..." Velma told Scooby, calling him over and giving him a hug. She pet his head and tried to sooth him over his loss. With Pet rocks and Tamagotchi, they really aren't real to die from. The rock, is well a rock, and the Tamagotchi is electronic. If it dies, you could just reset it and not have to worry. 

But Sea Monkeys are actually live animals and it was Scooby's first time loosing one of his pets. And it was his fault, so he felt even worse.

"Cheer up Scooby, you were doing pretty good before. Now all you have to do is be more mindful of what you do. Your actions can effect your pets. You have to think of them and you, like the plants in the garden. They have certain needs and it's up to you to take care of them. Ok?"

Scooby looked up at her and wiped the tears from his eyes.

"...R'ok."

"Now you still have some left, all we need to do is clean out this bowl and then set it up again for the little guys. We'll have to add the water conditioner in now and hope they will be ok. We don't have twenty four hours to wait this they should be alright. I'll help, come on."

Guiding Scooby, Velma helped the Dance fix what he had broken. They cleaned the take out and Scooby made sure he didn't make the same mistake twice. Reading the manual, he followed the instructions again and prepared the tank like new and carefully transferred back what remained of the little guys. 

Velma left Scooby as he was putting the last few back, proud that even through this minor disaster, he was able to learn from it. And she was sure he wouldn't make the mistake again.


	6. Asking Velma for Help

"No..."

It was a familiar scene, in the living room of the famous Mystery Inc household. Sitting in her usual spot, Velma was all curled up around yet another book, wearing a hole in the part of the couch she claimed as hers. The only thing different in the room was the fact that at the base of the couch, sitting on the floor looking up at her, Shaggy and Scooby sat. She hadn't even needed to lower her book, to give him the answer to his question.

"But... But..." Stuttered Shaggy as he looked up at her. He had a reason for being on the floor, as he and Scooby were in a sense, laying in wait for Velma to drop her guard. But the book provided the perfect shield against the two's current tactic. But, if she ever looked away from the book... two pair of Puppy eyes, full force, was waiting for her. They even employed a pout into the mixture, to make it even more dangerous. 

_It wouldn't take long._

Sighing, Velma was loosing her mental battle with herself. While she wanted to help him and Scooby out, it was something she felt strongly for. Too strongly. It was too close for comfort and she didn't want to put that much on poor Scooby. She sighed again, letting the book close before her. She fell right into their trap.

"Gwah! No! _No!_ Put _those_ away! That's playing dirty..."

Flinching away, she had only gotten a quick glance at the full power. So, she was able to force herself to look away in time. Covering her eyes, she waited till the coast was clear. It was only when she heard them both shift their positions and sigh, that she even dared to peek behind crossed fingers. The pout was still there, but they had put away the big guns... for now. Shaking her head, she shifted back to face them both.

"Come up on the couch, you two goofs." Grabbing Shaggy lightly by the arm, she guided him up on the couch beside her. Scooby just sat up, scooted closer and dropped his head in her lap.

"Not those eyes Scooby... I'm not trying to be the bad guy here. But I think it's better that I don't help that much for this." Giving Scooby a sympathetic ear scritch, she felt bad about her choice, but she believed it was the right one.

"But, like' Velma. You parents are fish scientists..."

"Marine Biologists."

"...Yeah, that too. They like' spend all day with fish and know so much about them. And I know you have been taken on trips with them about fish too. So you must know a lot... about fish!" Sitting beside her, Shaggy had scooted over and clung to her arm as he spoke. He lightly held her arm, but squeezed it some urgency. Velma's eyes softened behind the thick glass upon her nose. She was loosing the battle, but she really couldn't blame them. Slowly, she shook her head.

"That's the problem Shaggy, Scooby. I know way more then I ever wanted to know about fish. Sometimes I know to much and because of that, it seems not worth even having one. So, rather then bring you guys down about all the negative things, it's better for you to not even know and find out things for your own. After all Scooby, you want to have your own dog, right?"

"Rah rah!" Scooby lifted his head up at the notion, shaking it up and down to enforce his desire for his very own pet dog. Velma cringed a bit as the Dane bumped her lap with his energetic nodding, but didn't blame him for it. It was her fault asking the question in the first place. Placing a hand on his head, she rubbed it, slowing the nodding to a stop. With his attention finally back on her, she moved her hand to under his chin to bring his eyes to hers.

"Just think of this as part of learning. If you really want your own dog, then your going to have to pick your own fish. You won't get anywhere if we choose everything for you. You have to take responsibility for it as well."

Scooby stared into her eyes for a while before they closed and he gave her a big lick across her face. He would do what she suggested, and pick it himself.

"R'ok Relma!" Turning to his buddy, he barked at him happily. "Ret's ro Raggy!"

Pushing to all four paws, Scooby got himself to his feet and then moved to where Shaggy sat. Leaning his head down, the Dane got a good grip on the edge of Shaggy's bell bottoms and started to back up. With the intent of getting to a pet dog, he needed a fish first, so he was going to prove himself as fast as he could to reach his goal. Shaggy noticed this, but wasn't ready to leave just yet. Reaching up and around, Shaggy caught a grip upon the back of the couch. As Scooby pulled, Shaggy pulled back using the top of the couch as his brace. Making it a tug of war, with Shaggy as not only the opponent, but the rope as well. But it didn't seem to bother the man as instead, he brought his attentions to Velma beside him.

"Can you like', at least come along? I mean, not to give any suggestions or nothing, but just in case? I don't think we want Scooby picking like' a Piranha or something like that. So, it will still be his choice, just not a choice that we will all regret. I do have to sleep in the same room..."

It was a funny sight. At the point when he had finished his sentence, he was fully off the couch. Wobbling with the tugs from Scooby, the Shaggy rope clung at an angle that the only part of him still on the couch was the hand holding on for dear life at the top. Thankfully, Shaggy was fond of belts, as much as he was of his belt buckle collection, so there was no worry of Shaggy loosing his pants in front of Velma. But even through all of that, Shaggy was more concerned of asking Velma for help, even though it was for just in case.

"Alright. You win. I'll come along, but just in case. Nothing more." Velma gave in. He was asking so politely, and she might as well come. For all she knew, the person who worked by the fish might not know what they were talking about. Better that she came along to watch over them. The last thing they needed was for Scooby to get a sick fish from the get go. 

That wasn't really fair for the Dane.

"Whoo Hoo!"

Shaggy whooped as Velma agreed to come. But he forgot the fact that he was still holding on to the top of the couch. So, when he let go his hands to throw them into the air in victory, Scooby's incessant pulling finally kicked in and the duo went tumbling backwards to meet the other side of the living room with a crash! The impact rocked the house, and thankfully the two had not hit anything, even though they had made such a loud noise to bring the others out of hiding. From all corners of the house, peeked heads from the rest of the gang. Peering their heads from either side of the hallway, Fred had come from upstairs while Daphne came from the basement. Both curious on what had caused the disturbance.

"What's all the hubbub?" Fred asked as he finished going down the last set of steps to walk into the beginning of the living room. Daphne did the same, only coming from the other hallway arch and tried to get a glimpse at the pile of Shaggy and Scooby. They were a tangle of limbs and paws, having tumbled together and gotten themselves in quite a tangle. But it didn't stop them from both popping their heads up from the mass to grin at the rest of the gang, obviously having decided something. They both grinned simultaneously, eyes glittering with glee.

"Roadtrip!"  
"Roadr'ip!"


	7. Fourth Pet

"Who would have guessed that Wal-Mart would have fish?" Shaggy was amazed at the fact. The large department store never really pegged themselves for being a pet store, though they did carry a good amount of dog and cat food.

"A **Super** Wal-mart!" Daphne added, putting up a finger in a ' _matter of factly_ ' pose that wasn't missed. Daphne knew her stores, since shopping was one of her favorite hobbies.

"What's the difference?" Asking over his shoulder, Fred didn't know the difference. Besides the Logo was bigger, and they advertised the word ' _super_ ' on the outside. From the outside and the parking lot, they all looked the same to him.

"A number of things. For the most part there difference is the price. Super Wal-marts tend to have lower, discount prices. Also they tend to include things like a grocery section, and sometimes things like food chains, Banks, Auto repair and Vision centers. Usually a one stop, shop. Little bit of everything." Velma rambled out, casting a glace at Daphne who seemed to nod with approval. Apparently she herself had asked the same question, but with a sarcastic comment that earned her a Daphne speech out of it. Better to save the guys from the same fate.

"That and the general size of the store, the Super Wal-marts tend to have more floor space per square feet compared to normal Wal-marts. Also the parking lot tend to be bigger as well." Daphne added in as the van came to a rest. Piling out of the vehicle, Daphne led the way into the store. 

Passing the people greeters, she flashed them a smile as they gave her a wave and greeted her by name. Confidently, the red haired woman walked with direction as she glided through the store to their destination. Weaving through the various aisles, the gang was surprised how she was able to move without stopping to look at something. She only gave it a glance, memorizing it's position, and then moved on. The only time she slowed down was as they reached the pet section, at the back of the store. Shaggy was surprised, for all the time he and Scooby had come to get some dog food, they never noticed the row of fish tanks that lined the back wall.

"Has this always been here?" Shaggy half whispered in amazement at the length of tanks in front of him. Each tank filled with colorful fish swimming about their business. Not seeming to care as the duo gawked at them from beyond the glass.

"You two nuts... Always spending to much time by the food and toys, that you never noticed." Velma sighed, though thoroughly amused. When those two had food on the brain, they usually tended not to notice little else.

"R'hier ro r'any rish!" Scooby said in awe, gazing at the fish.

Hidden in a little corner of the store, sat the fish tanks. Around twenty feet long, it seemed to be broken into sections of tanks, with a sink sitting at one corner for the worker. Each section was around four feet long, and then further split into smaller tanks that housed all the different fish. Little tags were under each tank to tell what was inside, and it gave a bit of a description and the price.

Wandering the tanks, the gang moved about looking at each. Though one tank in particular caught Scooby's attention.

"Remo?"

Coming over to where the Dane pointed, at the bottom of one of the sections was a rather long tank compared to the rest. Where three tanks would fit, the one tank took up the same space. And it was for a good reason, as the tank was filled with what looked to be a lot of fish.

"Those aren't Nemo, I don't think..." Fred leaned over, giving the little fish a glance. Though he was no expert. So, he turned to Velma and was about to ask when a voice came from behind them all.

"Those are Goldfish. Sorry, no Nemo's in there."

The voice was coming from a short woman who was wearing a Wal-mart uniform. Though a navy blue shirt and khaki pants were hardly a uniform, it was all tied together by the little tag that hung around her neck telling her name. She was trying to wrestled a sent of cans that sat between her hand and her chin, looking awfully unbalanced. But with what looked to be skill, she used her free hand to put the various cans away where they belonged, without dropping so much as a can, before she came over to the gang. Stopping to wash her hands in the sink, she then looked over at them.

"You looking for some fish?"

"Yep!" Shaggy responded, eager to get Scooby a fish. Partly he wanted to help too, having never owned a fish before. Velma stayed quiet, watching the woman. Unsure if she should say anything, and instead waiting to see what the worker would say. She was only here for 'just in case'.

"Well, what size tank do you have?" The worker asked simply, tilting her head slightly as she asked. Shaggy and Scooby looked at each other confused and then to Velma who shook her head. Daphne had been watching and she responded instead.

"We are kinda new to fish, so we need to also get a tank as well."

"Alright, well then you have to figure what kind of fish you are looking for." Moving past the group, she waved at them to then look at the wall nearby that had shelves of various boxes on it.

"These are the tanks we are selling here. Depending on how many fish you want, and how much you want to spend, is what tank you should be looking at. If you want more fish, you'll need a bigger tank. The 1.5 gallon tank is a good starter tank, unless you want more then like three fish, then I recommend the ten gallon over here. It's a pretty good deal for the price." Gesturing to the various tanks she was talking about, she made sure they knew what she meant before she turned back to them expectantly.

"Well, I'm not sure. Probably only a few fish at first." Fred pondered aloud, not really wanting to buy a bunch of fish for Scooby to take care of. Maybe just a few would be best.

"Then I guess the next question is how serious you guys are about fish."

"Why would you ask that?" Velma pipped in, unsure what the worker meant.

"Well, sometimes people come in for their kids. Usually to make them happy, but they tend to not take care of the fish well without an adult helping. But then it's better to talk to the adult about what they might want, rather then the kids. The people who aren't too serious should go for a rather inexpensive fish, and one that is more hardy and might take more abuse from unsure hands. Like Goldfish, Beta's, Danios and some tetras. Good starters. Fish are just as much pets as any cat or dog..."

"R'og... _Where?_ "

Confused, the worker looked at Scooby for a bit before shaking her head and continuing.

"... They need to be fed, and have the tank cleaned. No walking involved, but it still can be a bit of an effort. Though you can actually feed fish every other day."

"Why not feed them every day? Or like three course meal like everyone else?" Shaggy defended the little fish. Fish should get fed too!

"Well, Fish will always be hungry. In the wild it's a good thing. They eat when they have the opportunity, but a lot of times food isn't always around. In the wild, they would be fine, but this isn't the wild. Since they aren't as active as their native counterparts, they tend to not work off the food as fast and it can lead to some bad things. Fish don't have stomachs like ours, to break down the food like human's do."

"R'oh..." Scooby then turned to look at the fish with a pitying look. Poor things, not able to enjoy food as much as he could. The worker looked on confused before turning back to the others.

"It's actually better not to feed every day. What won't get eaten the first day will be eaten the second day. It leads to less cloudy water and cleaner rocks. And that keeps the tank healthier. Also, certain fish eat more then others, so it's best to experiment to see how much is enough for the fish."

"So... it's _not_ a bad thing to not feed them?" Shaggy asked.

"Nope. Plus it costs less too." The woman said with a smile. Spending less was a key point of Wal-marts slogan.

Velma didn't agree with everything the woman said, but it was more a generalization then on specific fish. No doubt that the Wal-mart only covered certain fish and it was easier to make things broader, rather then spend the long amount of time explaining each and every aspect of fish. Something she knew all too well. No two fish were alike, so it was hard to say something for 100% certainty.

"So, what would you recommend?" Noticing the detective analyzing look Velma had, Daphne moved in to get everything moving forward. Certainly they could spend forever asking about fish, but they had to eventually get one of them. Or they wouldn't be able to see if Scooby was ready for the next step.

"R'i rant r'his r'one!" Moving along the tanks, Scooby found a fish that he liked. Puzzled, the gang and the worker moved to the tank with the fish in question. Reading the little tag that sat under the base of the tank, it read 'Spotted Puffers'.

"Aw... They look cute!" Daphne and Fred said together, both enthralled by the little smile the fish was looking at them with. But the worker didn't seem to share their enthusiasm.

"I... I would hold back on the Puffers. Unless you wanted to make a Puffer only tank. They are a high maintenance fish."

"Why is that?" Velma asked, watching the worker carefully. She knew about puffers, but was curious why the employee was so hesitant about it.

"Well, as cute as they look, they are probably the meanest fish we carry. Even worse then Oscars or Cichlids. Not to mention they are Brackish water fish."

"Brackish water? What is that?" Fred asked.

"Basically is more salt then fresh water, less salt then salt water. Like when a river would meet the ocean, there would be a bit that mixes. Apparently those little guys are from that kind of water."

"R'is rat rhy r'ere is ralt?"

"Um... What he say?" The woman asked confusedly, pointing at Scooby.

"He was asking if that was why there was salt in the tank. I figure he meant the little cup in there full of those little crystal things. Salt, right?" Shaggy responded for Scooby, pointing to the little cup. The worker stared at Scooby for a bit before shaking her head and nodded.

"Yeah. They love the salt, but if you had a tank you wouldn't need a cup like that. We only use that since we take so much water out of our system it eventually drains the salt and the cup helps tell us when we need to add more." She paused for a second before continuing. "So, if you want puffers, I suggest a puffer only tank. And it has to be at least a five to ten gallon tank, since the salt will erode any plastic tanks, which can be unhealthy for the fish. But if you aren't experienced with fish, you might want to start with something else."

"R'ike rhat?"  
"Like' What?" Shaggy quickly added just in case. Giving her head a bit of a scratch, the lady worker looked over at the tanks. Scanning each tank, she mulled about what to recommend.

"Well... You said you wanted only a few fish..."

"Yeah, maybe like one or two." Shaggy offered, they really didn't have too much room, in his room for more animals. The sea monkeys already took up one of the dressers.

"What about something that lives in this?" Picking up a small box, it was one of the smaller fish tanks. One gallon in capacity, Fred held out the tank for the rest of the gang to see. The worker looked over and considered what could fit in there.

"Well, you could probably get around two fish in that tank."

"Why only two?" Velma perked up, testing the employee.  
  
"Why not like three or four?" Shaggy asked, adding to Velma's statement. The worker didn't skip a beat, she easily moved to reply. Obvious this was a common question.

"Usually you want a gallon per inch of fish. Though you can kinda fudge it a little bit. So, the most you want to push it in a tank of that size is like two fish... _Maaaayybe_ three if they are really small. But I recommend only one or two fish. Though that tank is great for a single Betta."

"R'hats ra Retta?"  
"What's a Betta?" Shaggy and Scooby, both curiously asked at the same time.

"Follow me." Waving to them all, she passed through the gang and went to a nearby set of shelves. Indicating the shelves, she picked up a cup and showed it to Shaggy.

"This... Is a betta. Also called Siamese fighting fish. As the name implies, they do fight so it's best to only get one. The males are the ones with the pretty, long fins. The females tend to be drabber in color and less fins, probably for in the wild. These little guys are really hearty, and tend to last several years if taken care of well enough. They prefer a warmer water, being more of a tropical fish, and we sell the food for them. They are cheap, colorful, and a good starting fish. So, you might want to try a Betta." 

The worker offered, placed the cup back on the shelf with the rest of them. The rest of the gang wandered over as the employee backed up to give them some room. Shaggy and Scooby were the first to dive in, like little kids they were drawn to the pretty fins and interesting combination of colors. Most seemed to have a base body color, and then hues of other colors. From reds and blues, to some being like teal and purples. 

Each member of Mystery Inc seemed to be fond of different colors. Unsurprisingly enough, Daphne was fond of the purple ones, while Fred seemed to like one of the deep blue ones with various other colors weaseled in. Shaggy liked a white and red one, with most of it's body was white with spots of red. But Scooby had found his favorite! 

Holding the Betta up for everyone to see, it was easier to see the colors in the light rather then on the shelf. The whole back half of the fish was a pretty teal green. So, it was more blue, then green. The body color almost looked like it was bleeding into the fins, but left the back half of the fins an off white with a faint hue of the same green. Down the front half of the fishes body was that similar off white, green combination with a few random teal splotches down it. Ending with a deep green mustache across the Betta's upturned lips.

As the rest of the group marveled at Scooby's choice, both the worker and Velma seemed to stand back and watch. Velma didn't mind a Betta, as long as her parent's weren't around to give a lecture on their breeding and life cycles. The worker had personally liked that Betta, she was happy that it would go to a nice home. 

Looking over, the employee smiled spoke to Velma.

"Did I _pass_?"

Pulled out of her thoughts, Velma looked over at the woman with a look of confusion. But the worker only continued to smile.

"Pass... What?"

"Did I pass? Was I helpful? I've tried to take notes when your parents came over, but sometimes it was overwhelming." Shaking her head, the woman had a look Velma knew all too well. Though she might have guessed... If there was a fish store in a thousand mile radius, her parents had been there. Velma gave the expectant woman a smile.

"You did fine.... I'm sorry my parents might come over."

"Oh no, it's really informative, but sometimes too much to take in one sitting. At least I get payed for talking about fish."

The employee grinned. Velma was relieved, it was nice to meet someone who was working that had a sense of humor and seemed to generally enjoy their job. Though the worker wasn't as informed as her parents, they seemed to be giving her tips. And if she listened to other customers, it was certainly better then someone who didn't care enough. So, most likely the fish were well taken care of, or as best as one could in a Wal-mart.

"Velma Velma! We want this one!"

Trotting over with Scooby in tow, Shaggy showed off the Betta they wanted. They waited expectantly until Velma gave a nod of approval. They whooped in celebration before rushing over to where the tanks sat. The worker smiled, shrugged to Velma then followed after to point out the best tanks for them to use. She helped them pick out the rocks, food, decorations and told them to get the proper water. (Since tap water has chlorine in it.) Chlorine is bad for the fish, they ended up getting distilled water. With everything in a cart (Which Fred went to get), the gang headed out. The worker waved as they left her area, she was still waving as they vanished from sight.

The trip home was quick, and like two kids on Christmas, Shaggy and Scooby set up the tank with the help of everyone else. Velma oversaw the whole thing, making sure nothing went wrong. This was to see how well Scooby could take care of a pet, not on his skill of setting things up. She knew that even people who knew what they were doing, could get excited and forget something.

Soon the fish was in the water and swimming around with no problems. The little one and a half gallon tank sat upon one of Shaggy's shelves, where various other knick knaks sat. Giving it the safety of a high spot, and the sturdiness of the shelf just in case they banged into it. The rest of the gang left the guys, as Scooby was introducing the newest member to the rest of his 'pets'. Bringing the Sea monkey's tank to sit beside it, and his pet rock and tamagotchi as well.

"What you going to name it?" Shaggy asked, loud enough for the gang to heard outside the door.

"R'ettuce!"

"Lettuce? Well, I guess it kinda looks like Lettuce. But it's going to make me hungry every time you say his name..."

"Rah rah! rum!"

Fred cast a glance backward and then back to the group. They all traveled into the living room, with Fred leading the way.

"Looks like we are getting close to having Scooby get a dog."

"Well, he still has to take good enough care of the Betta, but with the last mishap with the Sea Monkey's, I think he will take pretty good care of it." Velma added, chewing on the edge of her thumb.

"Well, I was talking with Shaggy, and he had an idea for the next pet. Well, more of a loan of a pet, but it's a step up from fish. At least it's covered with fur." Daphne mentioned, looking back at the hallway that led to the guys room.

"We might just have to call in that favor." Fred sighed, not really wanting to be that desperate. "At the rate Scooby is going..."

"Yeah, we don't need another dog in the house. Keeping one fed is hard enough, technically two with Shaggy as well. A third might be too much. Better give 'him' a call, tell them to wait on standby. I'll buy the plane tickets if we need to." Daphne said grimly to Velma, who nodded.

"Hopefully it doesn't come to that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo for self insert! I'm the lady working at Wal-mart in the fish department. XD And no, I won't make a continual appearance, I just used the various bits of what I say on a daily basis in the story. It better be believable, since it happens daily. And to speak the truth, Fish are hard. There are so many things that change from fish to individual fish so nothing you can say will be 100% correct. It's mostly trial and error. So, I know something said in here might be wrong, but it might be right in some circumstances. So, rawr! ~Toki


	8. Calling for the Last Resort

"Gang... We need to talk."

One by one, the various members of Mystery Inc sneaked away and gathered into the dining room. Keeping the light off, they hid in the dark in hopes of not being found. They each pulled out the chair quietly, waiting for everyone to arrive. Shaggy was the last to enter, closing the door behind him. He had to distract Scooby in order to manage to get away.

"We, like' have maybe ten minutes until Scooby is done and wonders where I've disappeared too. So, we have to make this like', quick."

"Then let's get this meeting underway..." Standing up, Daphne took over the group. Calling everyone's attention, they had to discuss a lot of thing in very little time. So she had to make the most of it.

"As you all know, Scooby still wants that pet dog. Actually, even more so now." With all the pets that Scooby had taken care of, he was getting better each time. And his confidence made him want the dog, he felt he was ready for. "With the exception of just one, he's done rather well for all the pets we have given him..."

"Yeah, but how were we supposed to know that Daniel's pet rabbit was scared to death of Dogs?"

Fred spoke up for the Dane's defense. It wasn't his fault that the little rabbit was afraid of dogs. And though he didn't act like a dog, he could never not be one. Scooby looked like a dog, smelled like a dog, and no amount of sweet talking was making the little rabbit think otherwise. Not all other animals talked like Scooby could.

The gang had wanted to have something in between a fish and another dog, and a large rodent seemed to be the answer. But thinking about it, it made more sense to 'borrow' a pet, rather then add yet another animal to the Mystery Inc household. They didn't need to have some gerbil, hamster, guinea pig or ferret running loose in the house while they were on some mystery. Thankfully, their answer had come from one of Shaggy's little friends, Daniel. Hearing about the problem, the young boy was more then happy to loan his pet rabbit to the project. Little did they know, what trouble they were getting into. How much trouble, one little brown rabbit could cause.

All it took was one look at Scooby, and the rabbit took off like a rocket. Leaving a mess in its wake, as the little rabbit knocked over anything in its path. One chase scene, (One the gang actually were not on the receiving end of), and a trip to the emergency room later, the rabbit was home and Velma had stitches. Velma was a little grumpy from the whole ordeal, holding her hand with resentment as they talked.

"Who knew rabbits could bite that hard?" Fred apologized, shrugging his shoulders. It had looked so small and harmless... But scare something enough, and you get a reaction. A very sharp and pointy reaction.

"Rabbit aside, we have reached Dog. But we all know that having one is enough for us." Daphne took over the conversation. Though she placed a reassuring hand on Velma, to make sure she knew she wasn't just passing over her injury. They were limited on time to talk, after all.

"I think it's time to call in our reserve. He's our last shot... And if that doesn't work, we are all done for. We might have to break down and get another one..."

"Raggy!" A voice called out from the hallway, echoing off the walls. They had used up their time. Looking all back at each other, they all nodded at the same time.

"Daphne, get to work. We'll take Scooby for a walk as you make the call. Let us know if you need anything."

"Don't worry. Just get Scooby out of the house. I'll take care of the plane tickets. He'll be here in a few days, when his mom let's him go." Picking up her phone, she nodded and placed a hand over the receiver to quiet it. The rest of the gang slid out other doors, with Shaggy heading straight to Scooby. Daphne could over hear them as she dialed the phone.

"Hey Scoob. Old Buddy old pal. I was just looking for you. Wanna head out for a walk. We can get a soda and some snacks on the way back from the mart." Distracting the Dane from the shadowy door that Shaggy had just come out of, food was the key word to make sure he didn't get to curious.

"Roda? R'acks? R'ay! Ret's ro!" Easily distracted, it didn't matter where Shaggy had appeared from.

"Did I hear snacks? Can we come too?" From beyond the hallway, it sounded like Fred and Velma had gone through the living room to help with the distraction. And just in time too, the phone was ringing. As the gang left the house, the phone finally picked up on the other side.

"Hello?" Came a questioning woman's voice from the other side of the line.

"Ah, yes. Hello? Is this the Toore residence?"

"Yes it is, how many I help you?"

"I was wondering if I can talk to your son, I'm a friend of his..."


	9. The Arrival

* _Riiiiiiiingggg_ *

The whole gang had been sitting in the living room, watching TV when a cell phone rang. All heads swiveled to look at where it was coming from. They ended up all looking at Daphne, who took a second to realized it was her cell. 

Her eyes lit up at the significance of the unfamiliar ringtone, and Daphne was up and out of her seat. She disappeared into Velma's room, muffling the conversation with the door. The rest of the gang looked at each other. Fred smiled, giving Velma a nod. The woman saw the nod, but it took a few seconds for her to realize what it was. Her eyes grew wide the moment she put the clues together and then looked at Shaggy eagerly. He looked confused as Velma and Fred smiled at him. At least until Fred pointed at Scooby, then Velma's room. Then he finally got it. 

The only one who didn't was Scooby, which was the point. Daphne, getting a phone call? It was such a common occurrence that the Dane didn't even blink at it. So, the Dane dismissed the call and went back to watching the TV show. If it was something important, Daphne would let them know.

The conversation didn't last long, as Daphne emerged from the room soon after. With her phone put away, she leaned over and shut off the TV to get everyone's attention. Though no one but the Dane had been watching the TV at the time. Scooby grumbled a bit, since the show was getting good, but he turned his attention to the red head in front of the TV.

"Alright everyone, we are going to have some guests coming to stay for a little bit. Fred, can you and Velma go pick them up at the airport? They will be flying on US Airways, flight 2421 coming from Charlottesville. Don't worry, you'll know them when you see them."

Giving a nod, Fred got up and went for his keys and his shoes. Velma had been loafing around the house, so she disappeared into her room to change, though it only took a few seconds before she emerged ready. With a wave, the two were out the door and on their way. With them gone, Daphne turned to Shaggy and Scooby.

"You two are now going to help me. We have to clean out the guest room. Come on, we have work to do before they arrive."

Leading the way, Daphne started to head towards the stairs. Knowing they would not be able to get out of it, Shaggy hung his head and motioned for Scooby to follow him.

"Raggy Raggy... R'ho do rou rink r'is r'oming?"

Shaggy shrugged, hiding the truth from his furry counterpart.

"Like' I don't know Scoob. Maybe it's a friend or something."

"R'ok" Satisfied, Scooby followed Shaggy upstairs to the guest room they had on the second floor. Though it was usually used for storage, which is why they had to clean before who ever arrived.

It was some time later when Velma and Fred came back, visitors in tow. Bounding down the stairs, a dusty Scooby was first to pounce into the living room. He left a trail of dust in his wake.

"R'eddy! Relma! Relcome r'ome!" The Dane greeted, washing his friends with slobbery dog kisses. As Scooby was occupied with Fred, a third head appeared cautiously from behind them. Two eyes stared out from behind the shadows of a brimmed brown cap. Noticing the movement, Scooby darted his head to take in the new person. But it only took a few seconds to know that he didn't pose any threat.

"R'elvin!"

Pushing past Fred and Velma, the large dog thrust himself at the poor, unsuspecting boy. With an 'oof', Melvin found himself on the floor and being bathed by the huge weight upon his chest. The boy knew better then to fight against such a big dog, and just took the tongue bath.

"Scooby! Get off him!" Daphne had finally made her way down to the first floor and found her guest pinned under Scooby's large frame. Wandering over in a hurry, she took grip on Scooby's collar and yanked the excited Dane off the boy. Fighting against the struggling mass in her hands, she tried to talk to the boy on the ground. "...Are you ok Melvin?"

Pushing himself to a sitting position, Melvin took a free hand to run through his hair, adjust his glasses and finally pluck his discarded hat from off the floor. With a help from Fred, the youth was lifted to his feet once again. Just in case, Daphne was holding on to the Dane, he was still wagging his butt in happiness and excited to see the boy again.

"Hey Shaggy... ugh. Can you come take this ball of energy off of me? He's wiggling too much. And we don't need our guest taking another tackle. At least not until Dinner." Daphne said over her shoulder at the lankey man who was still by the hallway entrance. At request, he wandered over and took Scooby from Daphne, wrestling his pal further into the living room so that the others could get past the front steps. But Scooby wasn't calming down so easily.

"R'here's R'appy?"

It all made sense now. With his nephew not in sight, Scooby was trying to strain against Shaggy to see where the pup was. The last time he had seen either of them, was Thanksgiving of last year. Turning around, Daphne noticed that Scrappy wasn't in the house yet. Looking at the three in front of her, she knew something was up. It seemed like they had something hid up their collective sleeves.

"Scooby, follow us." Velma waved to the Dane to follow her. Opening up the front door, she led the group outside. With his curiosity perked, Scooby calmed down enough to walk after everyone. They group moved to the van, which was parted more towards the front of the driveway. The vehicle seemed to be moving, showing signs that something was bounding around inside. Moving to the back of the van, Fred and Velma got on either door, not wanting to be in the way once the doors opened. Eyes widening, Daphne understood why Fred shook his head off to one side. Grabbing Shaggy and Melvin by their collars, she hauled the two guys out of the way. Leaving only Scooby in front of the Van doors.

"Scooby... Meet your new, _temporary_ Dog!"

"R'og? Rimmie Rimmie!" Scooby was excited, finally getting a dog. His mind pushed back all other thoughts. He clapped his paws together in happiness, totally ignoring the word ' _temporary_ '. All he wanted was his dog. And with a nod, Fred and Velma were more then happy to give it to him. Pulling on the doors, they opened it up and set loose what was waiting eagerly inside!

"Dah dah dah da dah Da! Scrappy Power!" Shooting out like a rocket; the once puppy, now large Dane himself came out of the door and barreled into Scooby. The two tumbled backwards, bouncing across the lawn. Moving swiftly, Melvin came up to the dog pile and gripped something. Pulling on the leash that was attached to Scrappy, he gave a command.

"Heel Scrappy, **Heel!** " Scrappy turned from greeting and licking his uncle, to his master. The words took a bit to process before Scrappy heard what his master had said.

"Oh, right. Yes!" Pushing off Scooby, he moved to his masters side. Plopping his butt down, he tried to keep still. Though all he really wanted to do was hang out with his uncle. Confused though happy, Scooby rolled off the floor and into a sitting position. Bringing up a back foot, he leaned over and gave his own ear a deep scratch as he tried to figure out what was going on. Never before had Scrappy been on a leash when he was with Melvin, so why was he now?

"Scooby, we are here as a temp dog service. To show you what owning a real dog would be like. Please come over here and take the leash, because by law, a pet dog needs to be on a leash. Unfortunately, this section falls under Sec. 955.26 of the Ohio leash laws, concerning an area of Quarantine for rabies. So, all dogs must be on a leash."

"Rabies?" Scooby looked concerned, aiming his question to the rest of the gang.

"Remember when you got that shot a while ago? That was to prevent rabies. There was something about some raccoons a while back and this area still isn't clear. So, it's not a problem as long as the dog is on a leash. You helped save the mayor's daughter that one time, so, he's turning a blind eye to you, but other dogs have to obey the law." Doing public service did have its perks, but the law was the law.

Sighing, Scooby would obey the law. Padding up, he reached up and took the offered leash from Melvin. But as soon as the leash was passed to Scooby, Scrappy was up and all over his Uncle.

"Rappy, Rappy, R'alm rown." Trying to talk to his rambunctious nephew, he wasn't having any luck. The younger dog just bound up and down, wiggling his tail and butt and trying to jump up on Scooby. Scooby had to raise himself up on his back paws in order to not get knocked over.

"I guess we will start now. Scooby, we are going to have to teach you to communicate like people would to normal dogs. Not all dogs talk like you and Scrappy. And they might not understand what you want from them, even if tell them words in dog speak as well. If you are going to be an owner of a dog, you will need to learn some non-verbal... er... Not speaking cues. Things that help get the message across to the dog."

Melvin was trying to be a good teacher, though he only recently had been training Scrappy this way. Ever since the Dinosaur museum, Melvin had been trying to be a better owner for Scrappy, which helped distract the younger Dane s wanderlust. He still recalled all the fun times he had with the gang, but he was now sometimes talking about the fun things they had done together. It was a start, at least. And right now Scrappy was acting very well, just like a new dog. Melvin was so proud.

Scooby looked lost. _Didn't all dogs talk? Sure, not just in people, but he could talk to dogs before._ And why was Scrappy acting so oddly.

"Uncle Scooby, think of me as another dog. Not your nephew. I'm acting like another dog might act when coming to a new home. You want a dog, right?" Breaking his acting, he tried to reason with his uncle. Barking wasn't going to work, some words were needed. Though it did make some sense to Scooby, so he turned to Melvin.

"R'ow rhat?" Scooby asked, ready to start, if this would help him get his dog. Melvin smiled, thankful this wasn't going to be as hard as he thought.

Crossing his arms, Mevin tried to think of where to start. He was trying to think of what happened when his brother first got Scrappy, but that was a long time ago and probably wasn't the best example. That and the Doo family were not normal dogs in the first place. So he was going to have to assume a few things.

"Well, would you guys get a new puppy? Or adopt an older dog?"

Looking at the rest of the gang, Melvin posed the question. He would have asked Scooby, but this kind of question was more for the whole household to decide. Puppies were a lot of work to train, but sometimes a older dog had a lot of things that needed to be un-learned before they would behave how you wanted too. Melvin knew that last part all to well. Looking at each other, Shaggy was the first to respond.

"Adopt. Like' no question. There are too many good dogs that could use a home, and an older dog might not get the kind of chance a cute puppy might in a shelter. So, if we were to get another dog, I want to save one that might not get as many chances." He said with a firm head nod. The others shook their heads in agreement. Older dogs needed love as well, a puppy would have better luck getting adopted.

"Ok," Turning back to Scooby, he felt that this would be a bit easier to Scrappy to handle. Since technically he was an older dog learning some new tricks as well. "So, think of Scrappy as your new dog. He's gone through a lot being in a shelter, and now is going to be going to your house for the first time. Different dogs are going to react differently." Catching Scrappy's glance, Melvin motioned to the door.

"Scrappy, I want you think about those times Mom put you in those vet places overnight. Think about those little stalls you get placed in where no one will play with you and you only get to run around for a little bit at a time. Act like you have been stuck in one of those for a while and now you're being brought to a new home."

Being giving his cues, Scrappy huddled against the ground thinking about those little cages he had to be put in. They were cold walls, and the people who worked there didn't pay him much mind, most of the time. It was boring and a sad place, most dogs didn't like going there. But he always liked being free of that place, and able to run about. Compared to those evil prisons(at least to a hyperactive puppy), this was a paradise. Keeping that in mind, he looked up and nodded to Melvin. He was ready for his Oscar award!

"Alright Scooby. It's time to bring home your new dog." Looking at the rest of the gang, he shrugged. "Let's see how this goes, I guess..."


	10. Finally a Dog

Thirty minutes never seemed to take so long...

Since it was supposed to be a lesson for Scooby, the rest of the gang had let the Dane be the one to open the door. But he didn't have a good grip on Scrappy's leash, ( _and with the mental coaching Melvin had given the young Dane_ ) Scrappy hit the floor running... Dragging his older uncle behind him. Not only that, the rambunctious acting Dane chewed, barked and ran about the whole house; leaving the house in shambles in seconds.

"Rappy! Rappy!" Called the Dane as he tried to get a handle on the bundle of energy. But since Scooby's tone of voice was not firm enough, he was told to ignore it. He was acting like a new dog, and they had to feel out the new owners and see if they could be top of the food chain. But it was the owners responsibility to teach the dog about the hierarchy of the house. Mainly that the people (and Scooby would be included in that as well) were top dogs, and the pet would have to listen.

As the Dane's raced about the room, Shaggy chuckled as he moved out of the wave of a flying shoe. Plucking it from the floor where it landed, he was amused at the small hole that had been chewed into it. Thankfully it was his own, he was more laid back about it then the others. Wiggling his finger through the hole, he sighed with happy memories.

"Scooby was like' a terror when he was a puppy. I don't know how many shoes he put holes through, before we made him like pizza better. Heh." Tossing the shoe into the air, he caught it with a laugh. "Scrappy is doing a pretty good imitation. I have to give you credit Melvin, he had a good idea of how to pretend to be a new dog. That story about your mom really worked."

Grumbling, Melvin sighed and hung his head. "Actually, in truth this is how he's like EVERY time he comes home from the vet. It usually takes me a good hour to calm him down, and sometimes I find it easier to take him for a run before bringing him home. Not a walk... A run. Well, more of a drag..." He blushed, ashamed that his dog could drag him about like he did. Placing a hand on his shoulder, Shaggy shot him a grin and ruffled his hat.

"Don't feel bad, Scooby won't admit it, but he's pretty bad at times as well. There is a reason why a Great Dane is called **Great!** They are like' _a lot_ of dog." Leaning close, he whispered into Melvin's ear, keeping his voice down from the others.

"Actually, I let Velma handle it."

" **Velma?** " Melvin looked shocked, knowing the woman to be not the biggest member of the group. Seeing her be able to control the huge mass of dog, was a bit hard to swallow.

" _Shhhh..._ " Shaggy tried to get Melvin to lower his voice. "She cheats. She puts on her skateboard and let's him pull her down the block."

"I've ended up two towns over once..." Velma had easily heard them, and Melvin didn't help keep the conversation very subtle. "... I just let him run till he was exhausted. I ended up in Richville and had to call for Daphne to come get us. He had run himself ragged and then wouldn't move till Daphne came with some Scooby snacks." Shaking her head, she was annoyed yet amused at the same time. She also had taken a bunch of bumps and scratches as they ran through a few sections that were off the beaten path. But she couldn't even think about letting herself fall, she wouldn't know where she would have ended up.

"Heh, sorry Velms..." Shaggy chuckled.

" **Relp!** " On his fifth pass around the couch, Scooby was finally ready to ask for some assistance. There was a short pause before Melvin realized that is where he should step in. It was his dog after all.

"Scrappy! **HEEL!** " Yelling a bit louder then he intended, he flinched as the words left his mouth. But it got to the Dane at the end of the leash, and he skidded to a stop on the carpet.

"Ruff!" Scrappy barked happily, panting a bit from his romp. Walking over to Scooby, he took the leash from where it had gotten wrapped around Scooby's paw.

"Now Scooby, you will need to keep firm grip on the leash. Even if the dog you get is smaller, you have to stay in control. And you have to make sure they don't hurt themselves as well. You don't know what the other dog had been taught in his other home, if he even had one. So, you don't know if he was allowed to run about or was allowed to chew on things. You have to set the house rules and make sure he knows it. You have to use clear, simple and consistent commands. If you don't keep the same rules, they won't know which one they should follow. So, you have to make sure to keep it simple. And positive reinforcement is the best policy, rewarding when they do something you want them to do..."

"Ahem..." Coughed Scrappy, sitting pretty where he had been told to heel.

"Ah yes. Since Scrappy had listened to my command, I should praise him. Though it is easier for him to understand why he is being praised, if you do it as he or she finishes doing what you asked them to do. And praise can come from treats, hugs and a happy tone in your voice." Melvin leaned over and gave Scrappy a deep scratch across his side, making the young Dane lean with the motions.

"And ear scratching work too." Offered Scrappy, which Melvin complied.

"Yes, ear scratching works too. And most dogs don't talk." Melvin corrected, making the gang snicker.

"Oh, yeah. Ahem, _woof. Bark bark_." Scrappy spoke in a not very dog like tone. Which earned him a light bob on the nose.

"You shouldn't punish too much either. Because sometimes the dog won't know what you are punishing them for."

Looking over to Scooby, Melvin was trying to make sure the Dane was paying attention. But he only found the unconscious form of Scooby at his feet. Melvin looked surprised, since he didn't expect to see the sleeping dog. Making a gesture at the Dane, he waved his arms back and forth in confusion.

"But... I... um..."

"Wow, he lasted longer then I thought." Fred said with an entertained chuckle. "Don't worry Melvin, it's not your fault. Scooby is really bad with learning things and his brain tends to short out after a bit. And throw a run about the house before hand, he really didn't have much left." Tossing an arm around the boy, he tried to reassure him. Looking up at the older guy, Melvin shot a weak grin back. He still felt bad though.

"Did I do a good job?" Scrappy turned to the group, bounding up with seemingly unending energy. Leaning down, Shaggy gave him a fond scratch behind the ears. Pouring affection upon the younger dog.

"Great Job Scrappy!" Shaggy said with a smile, praising the dog for his work. He looked over at his own dog and shook his head. "I think he might wake up and think differently about owning a dog."

"I hope so, having one is more then enough. No offence Scrappy." Daphne sighed, offering a hand towards to Scrappy, who shook his head. He didn't find offence, since he knew he was a handful... But at least he was Melvin's handful. And he got to go see his uncle out of this experience, so it was worth it to him.

"We should let him rest..." Velma spoke up, leaning over to place a blanket over the sleeping form of Scooby. She shook her head, but a smile tugged at the side of her face as she looked down at the sleeping form with affection. "Anyone for dinner?"

A round of agreements rose from the rest of the group, starting towards the hallway. It was only when they reached the threshold when a pair of eyes looked back.

"Wow... He really was tired. I didn't think Uncle Scooby would miss dinner for anything. I guess I really worked him out." Tugging on Shaggy's sleeve, he pointed back at his passed out uncle.

"Make sure we save some for Uncle, ok? I would feel bad if we didn't."

Patting the dog on the head, Shaggy nodded with reassurance. "Don't worry Scrappy, he did pretty good today. So, I'll make sure we save enough for him. He's going to be hungry when he wakes up."

Passing into the hallway, the living room grew quiet as their voices faded into the kitchen. Rolling over, Scooby moved in his sleep and kicked some of the blanket off one foot. Wiggling his front paw, he giggled in his sleep. It seemed like he was happy at what ever he was dreaming about, tongue falling out of his slightly open mouth. Wagging his tail under the covers, he murmured in his sleep to no one in particular...

"Rood roggy... Rood roggy..."


End file.
